Shoe-shining kit



-June 13, 1944.l R. H. VDAVID SHOE SHINING KIT Filed March 4, 1943 f N N- w www Patented June 13, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE-SHINING KIT Roger Harry David, St. Paul, Minn. Application March 4, 1943, Serial No. 477,959

2 Claims.

' My invention relates to an improvement in shoe shining kit, wherein it is desired to provide a container for a stick of shoe polishing wax which also serves as a polish cloth.

Shoe polish is usually provided either in paste or liquid form, and is ordinarily applied by means of brushes or daubers. Cloths are also used from time to time in order to increase the luster of the polish and to impart a shiny finish to the surface of the leather. I have found it preferable, however, to prepare shoe polish in stick form and have found that when applied in this manner no brushes or daubers are required in order to provide a lustrous finish on the leather.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a kit for polishing shoes which includes a stick of polish or wax and a cloth mitt or sack into which the stick will fit. This mitt or sack when opened up can serve as a polish cloth and may be used to rub the stick wax evenly upon the surface ofthe leather.

A feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a mitt or sack of a size to accommodate the hand of the user and which is provided on its outer surface with a soft ileecy covering capable of imparting high gloss to the shoes when rubbed on the wax surface thereof. Being formed of soft flexible material the sack or mitt can coni form readily to the surface of the shoes and will enable a person using the mitt to rub the wax evenly into all parts of the leather surface.

A feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a cloth bag or sack having a surface thereon which may be used conveniently to polish the surface of the shoe, which surface is normally concealed when the kit is not in use. The end of the bag or sack which is used in the shoe polishing operation is normally rolled interiorly of the end of the bag into which the hand is inserted so that the soiled portion of the cloth .is normally concealed when the kit is not in use.

A further feature of the present invention lies in the formation of the mitt or sack of a width greater than the length of the polish stick. As a result the stick may t into the end of the sack and form a base about which the material of the same may be rolled when the kit is not in use.

A further feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a pocket near the open end of the mitt or sack into which the hand is inserted, which pocket may be used to contain the remainder of the body of the mitt. In other Words, the body of the mitt is rolled upon the stick of polish and the main portion of the mitt body is inserted into the self-containing pocket located near the mouth of the mitt or sack. When thus self-contained, the kit may be conveniently carried, packed or stored.

A feature of the present invention lies in the fact that the sack may be used as a shine cloth by grasping the ends of the sack inthe two hands and reciprocating the sack over the surface of the shoe to be polished. When the polish stick is contained within the bottom of the sack the adjacent end may be conveniently held, the fingers engaging about the contained stick. The self-containing pocket at the other or open end of the bag forms a convenient means of grasping this other end during the polishing operation.

A further feature of the present invention lies in the fact that the end of the bag supporting the self-containing pocket is reversible so that either surface of the pocket may be outermost. Thus if after use the outer surface of the pocket becomes soiled the pocket may be reversed so that the other side thereof is outermost.

These and other objects and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawing forming a part of my specification:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of my shoe kit in readiness for operation.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the kit in folded form.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through the kit in folded form.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through the kit in unfolded position.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the kit with the self-contained pocket thereof reversed.

Figure 6 is a sectional View longitudinally through the kit with the pocket thereof reversed.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view through the folded kit with the pocket reversed as in Figures 5 and 6. l

The kit A comprises an elongated strip I0 of suitable flexible fabricymaterial preferably having a soft fleecy surface II and a harder finished surface I2. The strip Il is'folded at I3 to form a bag or sack and is also folded at I4 to form the self-containing pocket which will be later described in detail.

The tape I5 preferably extends about the entire periphery of the strip I0, extending across the ends I6 and Il respectively thereof, and along the opposite edges I9 and 2D thereof. The fold line I3 is so arranged that theend I6 of the strip terminates at a point spaced from the fold line I4, as best illustrated in Figures 1 and 4 of the drawing. Thus the self-containing pocket which will now be described projects beyond the pocket 2I forsmed by folding the strip IIJ along the fold line The strip I0 is of proper width to accommodate the stick of polish B which may be placed adjacent to and parallel the folded edge I3 of the pocket 2|. As best seen in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing the body of the stripmay be wrapped about the polish stick B and this wrapped body polish may then be inserted in the pocket 22, this pocket thereby self-containing the remainder of the strip body and the polish stick. When thus self-contained the polish stick is held securely enclosed and the surface of thefcloth which is usually soiled by the polishing operation is concealed.

When the mitt A is assembled, the polish stick B is inserted into the pocket 2| extending across the bottom of the pocket adjacent to and parallel with the fold line I3, as illustrated in dotted outline in Figure 4 of the drawing. The/material forming the mitt or sack is then wrapped about the stick B until it assumes the position best illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawing. The body is wrapped until it comes adjacent the end II of the pocket 2'2 and then is forced into this pocket as best illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 of the draw- When in use the hand C may be inserted into the pocket 2l after the polish stick B has been removed therefrom so that the mitt may be used for polishing the surf-ace of the leather after the wax has been .applied thereto from the stick B. It will be noted that the outer surface of the strip I D will undoubtedly become soiled by this polishing operation, but the soiled portion of the mitt will be concealed in wrapped relation of the kit.

The mitt or sack A can likewise be used by grasping the two ends I3 and I4in the two hands and reciprocating the body of the mitt or sack across the leather surface to be polished. When using the sack in this manner it is preferable to replace the polish stick B in the lower end of the sack adjacent the fold line I3, and by this means a bettergrip may be maintained upon the polish cloth. The self-containing pocket 22 may be gripped by the fingers of the other hand if desired.

If preferred, the pocket 22 may be inverted so that both the pocket 2I and the pocket 22 are on the same side of the body of the sack. The construction of the sack is not changed in any way whatsoever, the pocket 22 merely being inverted or turned inside out to form the pocket 22. When in this condition, as seen in Figure 5 of the drawing, all of the soft or fleecy surface of the strip I0 is exposed and all of the harder finished surface of the strip I0 is concealed.

This form of construction is somewhat to be preferred from that illustrated in Figures 1 through 4 of the drawing because of the fact that the soft ileecy surface of the strip I0 provides an attractive outer covering for the kit when it is in wrapped relation. The disadvantage of this structure, however, lies in the fact that the soft fleecy surface is more readily soiled than the harder surface on the opposite side of the strip. Therefore, it is often desirable to fold the kit as best illustrated in Figures 5, 6, and '7 of the drawing when the kit is first used and then when the outer surface of the strip III becomes soiled the pocket may be turned as illustrated in Figures 1 through 4.

I have found that the kit is extremely useful in maintaining a glossy finish on shoes and the like, may be carried in a small space, and may be readily used whenever convenient. The shape of the mitt or sack is such that the surface of the leather may be thoroughly polished with ease, thus simplifying the task of maintaining the shoes in good condition.

I have further found that the stick wax is preferable to a paste product because of the fact that the paste contains solvents which when dried have a deleterious effect on leather. Furthermore, the

r2 tion and overlying the greater portion of finish provided by the stick wax is much harder than that ordinarily provided by paste wax and will maintain the shiny appearance of the shoes for a much greater length of time than the usual p-aste.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my shoe shining kit, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A shoe shining kitcomprxsing an elongated strip of fabric having arelatvely soft fleecy surface and a relatively hard surface, said' strip being folded between its ends and Vone end laid to overlie a portion of the remainder of the strip with the soft fleecy side outermost, the overlying portion of the strip being secured to the remainder of the body of the strip along opposed edges to profv vide a pocket open at the end of the overlying portion of the strip, the remainder of the strip being folded intermediate its ends with the Vhard surfaced side of the material outermost, the strip being secured together along opposed edges to provide a pocket having the hard surface of the fabric outermost and with the' pocket opening in substantially opposed relation on the opposite side of the strip from the opening of said first named pocket, said second pocket providing a hand hold at one end of said body, a shoe polish stick of a length to fit transversely of the strip adjacent the fold line of the first pocket, said shoe polish stick forming an enlargement at the base of the pocket to provide a means of grasping the folded end of said first pocket.

2. A shoe'shining kit comprising an elongated strip of fabric having a soft Vfleecy surface and a hard finished surface, a binding tape encircling said strip to enclose the edges thereof, said strip including an intermediate portion, one end portion foldably connected to the intermediate porthe length of said intermediate portion, terminating at a point spaced from the other end of said intermediate portion, said one end portion being secured along opposite edges to the intermediate portion to provide a pocket accessible'at the extremity of said one end of said strip, saidone end being foldably connected to said intermediate portion in such a'manner that the soft fleecy surface of the material is outermost, the other end of said strip being foldably connected to the other end of said intermediate portion and terminated along a line substantially opposite theextremity cf said one end of said strip, said second endV being folded so that the hard surfaceof said ma'- terial is outermost and the fieecy surface thereof is innermost, said other end of said strip being secured along longitudinal edges to said intermediate portion to provide a pocket adapted `to receive the rolled portion of said one end and the attached portion of said intermediate portion of said strip, said other end of said strip forming' `a hand hold whereby said other end of said vstrip may be engaged by one hand, a shoe polish stick extending transversely of said strip adjacentthe fold line connecting said one end of said'strip to said intermediate portion, said shoe polish stick forming an enlargement by'means of which the corresponding end of said intermediate portion'of said strip may be engaged by the other hand V ROGER HARRY DAVID. 

